Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Taped at
Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall on July 28, 2014, each song was
handpicked by the artists, and features classic selections from the Great
American Songbook. Tony
Bennett & Lady Gaga: Cheek to Cheek LIVE! was filmed in front of a live
audience of invited guests, many of whom were students involved in arts
programs in NYC public schools. With set
and lighting design by Robert Wilson, the stars are joined by a 39-piece
orchestra conducted by Jorge Calandrelli, soloists Chris Botti on trumpet and
David Mann on tenor sax, and jazz musicians associated with both artists
including members of Bennett’s quartet, Mike Renzi, Gray Sargent, Harold Jones
and Marshall Wood, and Lady Gaga’s quintet, including Brian Newman, Paul
Francis, Steven Kortyka, Michael Scott Ritchie, and Alex Smith. Blu Ray and DVD release includes:
Anything Goes; Cheek To Cheek; They All Laughed; The Lady's In Love With You;
Nature Boy; Goody Goody; How Do You Keep The Music Playing?;. Bang Bang;
Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered; Firefly; I Won't Dance;. Don't Wait Too
Long; I Can't Give You Anything But Love; Lush Life; Sophisticated Lady; Let's
Face The Music And Dance; Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye; But Beautiful; and It
Don't Mean A Thing (If You Ain't Got That Swing).

BRIAN SIMPSON - OUT OF A DREAM

A proven
hit maker, Brian s previous release garnered top 10 singles, including 2 #1s. Both as
a solo performer and as the featured keyboardist and music director of the Dave
Koz Band, Brian performs in front of an incredibly large number of Smooth Jazz
fans on a non stop basis. And as winner of the American Smooth Jazz Keyboardist
of the Year Award, frequent guest on nationally syndicated radio shows and
music director of The Smooth Jazz cruise, his visibility is tremendous. Highlights
include the hit single Skywatcher , the sensuous ballad Just One Wish featuring
Norman Brown, a brilliant performance by Najee on the title track Out of a
Dream, Maysa s bossa nova tinged vocals on The Rio Sway , Dave Koz vibey solos
on When I Say Your Name , and much more! ~ Amazon

SONNY
ROLLINS – THE PRESTIGE YEARS

Theodore
Walter "Sonny" Rollins, born September 7, 1930, remains one of the
most influential and important American Jazz musicians of all time and is
widely recognized as the finest tenor sax player in Jazz's long history. Although
now well into his 80s, Rollins continues to perform and release new recordings.
Rollins was born in New York City, to parents who were themselves born in the U
S Virgin Islands. Rollins received his first saxophone at age 13, initially
attracted to the jump and R&B sounds of performers like Louis Jordan, but
soon he became drawn into the mainstream tenor sax tradition. Rollins began to
make a name for himself in 1949 as he recorded with Johnson and Bud Powell what
would later be called "hard bop", with Davis in 1951, with the Modern
Jazz Quartet and with Monk in 1953, but the breakthrough arrived in 1954 when
he recorded his famous compositions "Oleo", "Airegin" and
"Doxy" with a quintet led by Miles Davis. Rollins was invited later
in 1955 to join the Clifford Brown-Max Roach quintet. After Brown's death in
1956, Rollins continued to play with Roach and released his own albums on
Prestige Records, Blue Note, Riverside, and the Los Angeles label Contemporary.
His widely acclaimed album Saxophone Colossus was recorded on June 22, 1956,
and included his best-known composition "St. Thomas". In 1956 he also
recorded Tenor Madness, using Davis' group. The title track is the only
recording of Rollins with John Coltrane, who was also in the group at this time.
It was this musical titan's recordings made with Prestige 1953-1956 which
established Sony Rollins as one amongst the finest Jazz players to grace the
genre. This 5 CD set contains all 10 LPs Sonny Rollins made for Prestige
Records, in their entirety, beginning with his collaboration with Theolonius
Monk and The Modern Jazz Quartet, and moving through his classic works as
leader of some of the finest Jazz combos ever to record together.~ Amazon